1. Field of the Invention
Concrete Pump and Method of Using Same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior to the present invention, the most successful pumps used in pumping flowable concrete employed reciprocating pistons and associated valving, with the pistons stopping at the end of each stroke. Thus, concrete moves intermittently through a hose or conduit connected to the discharge of a reciprocating pump. The friction of the flowable concrete in a hose is highest when being accelerated from a rest position to the maximum rate of flow. This intermittent flow makes the discharge of flowable concrete from the hose erratic and difficult to direct into a concrete form.
A major object of the present invention is to provide a method of pumping flowable concrete containing large pieces of aggregate at a substantially constant rate without sharp variations in pressure and in so doing overcome the major operational disadvantages inherent in prior art reciprocating pumps used in pumping concrete.
Another object of the invention is to supply a concrete pump that is compact, requires no valves, is easily cleaned, discharges the concrete at a substantially uniform rate without sharp variations in pressure, and a pump that when it encounters a piece of aggregate will cut the latter into portions that will pass through the pump.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the structure of the concrete pump and method of using the same to transfer flowable concrete to a desired location at a substantially uniform rate and without sharp variations in pressure.